The food and beverage (F&B) function covers a wide range of areas. Guarantees, meal tickets, gratuities, and the pros and cons of holding in-house and off-site functions were addressed in the June installment of this column. Here we'll discuss meal plans, function room setup, beverage service, and hospitality suites.

Meal Plans

Resorts and conference centers have their own types of meal plans. These include (for resorts): 

•  European Plan (EP) - room rate does not include any meals (typical in hotels)
• American Plan (AP) or Full American Plan (FAP) - room rate includes all meals
• Modified American Plan (MAP) - room rate with breakfast and dinner included.

Conference centers have a meal plan called the Complete Meeting Package (CMP) that includes the guest room (if applicable) and all F&B (including meals and continuous refreshment breaks), standard audiovisual equipment, and meeting room.

Setup of Function Room

The type of service you will use impacts the amount of space required for buffet tables and food stations. There are also more "formal" styles of food service (e.g., French, Russian) that will require additional space between tables. For the CMP exam, it is important to understand all of the different types of service (a list and definitions can be found on page 249 of The Convention Industry Council Manual) and how they impact space needs. You should also be aware of the pros and cons of each type of service, such as level of formality, cost, space issues, and timing.

Refreshment breaks should be set up adjacent to or outside - not inside - of the meeting room. Actual menu planning should take into account many variables, including your attendee preferences and their dietary restrictions/special requirements as well as the nutritional value of the menu items. In addition to your budget, you will also want to keep in mind the specialties of the area/region and/or chef, and time and space requirements for meal service. For example, if you are only allowing one hour for lunch, a buffet may not be viable. And if space is tight, a plated or sit-down meal might be mandatory.

If a menu tasting is required, this should be communicated to the catering manager in advance and should be scheduled to take place 60-90 days prior to the event. This is early enough for menu planning and yet late enough for specific foods to be in season, if applicable.

Timing and staffing of meal functions and breaks is also important. Some general rules of thumb:

• Continental breakfast - 30 minutes to one hour; one buffet and one attendant per 100-120 people.
• Full breakfast -buffets work well if there is no program involved, so attendees are allowed to flow in to breakfast over a one-hour time span. Keep in mind that many people skip breakfast (possibly up to 50 percent), but guarantees should be based on your group's history.
• Breaks - allow at least 30 minutes for information sharing, restroom visits, phone calls; one attendant per 100 people.
• Luncheon - 90 minutes minimum; consider presetting items such as salad and dessert to reduce time. If there is no planned group lunch, make sure restaurants/lounges in the facility are available and staffed and have been told in advance to expect heavy volume.
• Receptions - since the objective is typically networking, entertainment should be in the background only and at a volume that allows conversation; one attendant per 50 people. If held prior to a planned group dinner, less food can be ordered but more drinks may be consumed. Seating can be provided for only about 25 percent of the group, depending on your group's demographics. If many of your attendees are advanced in age, then more seating should be available.
• Dinner - allow at least two hours, depending upon the program and the formality and extent of the menu. If required, make sure you schedule the space for additional setup time (décor/entertainment) as well as rehearsal time.
• Sit-down (plated) meals, whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner - standard service is one wait staff per 32 guests; more formal service types will require a lower ratio (one per 20 guests or one per 16 guests). Buffets can have a higher ratio as guests serve themselves and wait staff may only be serving beverages and clearing tables.

Beverage Service

This is one area of F&B management that must be carefully planned and monitored. Knowledge of liquor laws, including dram shop laws, will define liabilities and possibly determine what can be served. Having an open or host bar encourages heavier drinking and waste, while a cash (or no-host) bar will keep the expenses down and lessen the liability.

A "hybrid" of cash and host bar may be a cash bar for alcoholic beverages, with hosted soft drinks, or a number of drink tickets for hosted beverages given to each person. Host or open bars can be charged per drink, per person, or per bottle. The most common and economical is per drink, but for groups that have a history of heavy consumption, per person may be more economical. Charging per bottle is rarely used outside of hospitality suites as it is the most expensive; as soon as a bottle is opened, you are charged for the full bottle and many laws do not allow you to take leftover liquor with you. Having banquet tickets/invoices document the specific type and number of drinks consumed during a host bar will assist in building a history of the group's consumption patterns and allow for better planning in the future. Typical staffing ratios for bar service are as follows: 

•  Bartender - one per 75-100 people
• Cocktail server - one per 50 people 
• Wine steward - one per five tables.

Hospitality Suites

Hospitality suites should be closely controlled so that suppliers or ancillary groups are conforming to liquor laws limiting liability. While exhibitors and sponsors should be allowed to have hospitality suites as it brings additional revenue to the facility - and, if contracted as such, can contribute to your F&B minimum - underground hospitality suites should be discouraged. They cannot be controlled. You can manage hospitality suites by providing printed rules and regulations for their use and requiring that they be booked through the organization rather than directly with the facility.

Vicky Betzig, CMP, is president/owner of Meetings Industry Consulting and has more than 20 years of experience in managing meetings, conferences, conventions, trade shows, and events. She has extensive experience in the development, production, and facilitation of CMP study programs and is a nationally recognized trainer, presenter, and author (the co-recipient of PCMA's 2004 Author of the Year Achievement Award) on a variety of meeting management topics. She can be contacted at vabetzig@mindspring.com.

The Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation, the foremost certification program of today's meetings, conventions, and expositions industry, recognizes those who have achieved the industry's highest standards of professionalism. For more information on obtaining the CMP?designation, please contact the Convention Industry Council at www.conventionindustry.org. For more information on PCMA's CMP programs, please visit www.pcma.org.